Pavel’s shots were exceptionally potent, and after being enhanced with his martial arts and his skills, each of them possessed power comparable to a mighty downward slash from a heavy trooper. If he were hit by this, even a man in full plate would be knocked back and sent rolling over the ground.
However — Jaldabaoth did not move in the slightest even after taking fifty one arrows.
And then, something happened which made him doubt his eyes.
The arrows which should have punched through his body fell to the ground.
What!? Is he defended against projectiles!?
Pavel quickly nocked his second arrow as he thought about how Jaldabaoth had defended against those arrow shots.
Some monsters were able to nullify attacks through their special qualities. For instance, lycanthropes and the like were nigh-invulnerable if one did not use silver weapons against them.
He considered that Jaldabaoth might have a similar ability. In that case, what sort of attack could breach Jaldabaoth’s defenses?
The arrow he had launched just now was made of steel, and it was enchanted with holy power that was especially effective against those of evil alignment. While it was said that demons could not defend against it, there was no denying that Jaldabaoth had proven immune to it. In that case, it would be best to use other arrows to learn more about the opposition, tearing down his veil of mystery to chart a course for victory.
Pavel readied a silver arrow next. It too was imbued with righteous power.
“...Now then, do permit me to make a move of my own. It is a trifling present, but I would be delighted if you would accept it. This is a tenth tier spelclass="underline" 「Meteor Fall」.”
Pavel sensed something from above him, approaching with unavoidable speed. Looking up, he saw a mass of light.
It was a gigantic heated rock — no, it was something bigger than that.
Light gradually filled his vision, and for a moment he glimpsed the forms of his wife and daughter amidst the light.
He knew it was an illusion. His daughter was old enough that she could choose her own path in life. Even so, the daughter he saw was still young, and his wife who held her still looked very young.
No, if I don’t say she’s still young now, she’ll probably kill me—
The falling meteor slashed through the sky and hit the wall, where it burst into an explosion. A thunderous roar echoed all around. The massive shockwave flattened everything it touched and shattered the wall.
As the sand and dirt thrown up by the shockwave of the explosion begin falling back to earth, the dust slowly began to settle.
What it revealed was the remains of the broken wall, blasted to smithereens, and drifting smoke.
After looking at the devastated fortifications, there was no need to think about what had happened to the soldiers stationed there.
Humans could not possibly survive such conditions.
Of course, Demiurge knew that some humans could endure such things. For instance, there were the fools who had stepped into the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, the holy land created by the Supreme Beings. However, he had done thorough research beforehand, and he had verified that no such humans existed here.
“Now then, this ought to be enough for preparations.”
Demiurge dusted off his suit with his hands. He had not been showered with sand or dirt, but the dust from the blast had reached him, so there was a slight earthy scent clinging to him. No — he would have done so even if that had not been the case. After all, this was a valuable item from the great being who had made him.
Of course, Demiurge had many other clothes besides this set, but that did not mean that he could treat it carelessly because of that.
As he thought of his mighty creator, he smiled behind his mask, and then looked out at the pitiful humans.
If he followed up with an attack, the enemy’s confusion would become that much more apparent, and at that point, the demihuman assault would cause a complete rout. However, he had not used that spell just now for that purpose.
Demiurge could only cast a very small number of spells; there was only one other tenth tier spell available to him. His true power lay in his skills, and while he had used that spell just now to conserve his strength, the scene before his eyes was sufficiently tragic as it was.
There was no sign of a counterattack. It would seem they were desperately trying to collect information and regroup.
Their commander is not dead… and their confusion doesn’t seem because they’re suspicious of us… are they really all right?
Demiurge turned his back to the humans, walking back to the formation of his slaves.
He was not even on guard against the possibility of being attacked from behind.
He could afford to be this lax because of all the information he had gathered.
Demiurge was very strong.
Indeed, he might be ranked lowly among the Floor Guardians, but he was confident of victory in battle. That was because he knew that battles were fought because one was confident of winning them. That was to say, one should not choose to fight if one was unable to win, unless otherwise ordered.
There was only one person that Demiurge could not defeat — in other words, there was only one opponent against whom Demiurge could not prepare enough to assure his own victory.
That person possessed intellect which surpassed his, schemes which beggared the imagination, a view of the world which seemed to extend out unto eternity, the ultimate pinnacle who held everything in the palm of his hand.
He was the supreme ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick — Ainz Ooal Gown.
That Supreme Being was the one to whom Demiurge owed his loyalty.
Producing a great deal of undead was part of his plan. Once that scheme takes effect, nobody will be able to harm Ainz-sama. How fearsome he is. It seems the others do not yet realise how joyful it is to be ruled by such a Supreme Being—
There was a thud. This was the first time something had happened which Demiurge had not expected. He turned to look at the source of the sound.
It would seem someone had jumped down from the wall. The man in question slowly rose to his feet.
“The, the boss is dead. He, he was the man I wanted to defeat!”
The man drew his swords with both hands as he said so.
Demiurge evaluated the man from his appearance. He reached an answer immediately.
Threat Level — E (Worm).
Error Probability — E (None at all).
Importance — E (Guinea pig).
In other words, he was nothing but trash. Still, he was one of the Nine Colors — while not all of them were impressive, he thought that it would be good to capture him and run all sorts of experiments on him.
“Uoooooooh!”
The screaming man ran over to him.
Slow. So slow. If this is the extent of his speed, should he not have used his brain more? For instance using 「Silence」to approach quietly and close the gap between us...
This was a distance his comrades would have been able to close in an instant. The man — slowly — ran over to him.
According to the information Demiurge had collected, this man of inferior ability could apparently use a special attack that was several times more powerful than normal in exchange for breaking his weapons. Therefore, he had a sword in each hand, and several more swords like it at his waist.
How should I kill him? If I finish him off as cleanly as possible, then when I take him back I can — ah, he’s finally arrived.
After ensuring that he would not be splashed by the man’s spraying blood, Demiurge gave an order.